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Business planning tips

Getting started in business requires courage, hard work and tenacity, and while speed is of the essence, an unprepared commercial launch can mean failure.

Reducing the interval of time between the final results of a research and technical development (RTD) project and market introduction is particularly relevant in the GNSS sector, where technologies and market opportunities are changing rapidly.

There are a lot of things one can do to make the process easier and to maximise the chances of success. Forward planning and adherence to rational and efficient methodologies are key elements.

Therefore, a “manual of good practice” has been developed to outline a methodology that supports SMEs in building successful businesses around the results of their EU-funded research projects.

In this manual, a step-by-step guide takes the reader through the start-up of a new business, from screening a project’s fundamentals to the analysis of the competitive environment and the creation of a strategy, presenting IP rights issues, exploitation schemes and moving straight through to the creation of a preliminary business plan.

The manual was realised through the PEGASE project (Provision of Expertise to GSA And Support to Enabling activities), a Coordination and Support Action funded through the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7).